Contemporary Japanese Quilts features a dozen Japanese quilts made in the last 25 years during the explosion of quilting in Japan. Inspired by traditional American patterns yet infused with the Japanese eastern aesthetic, these quilts take the art of quilting to a new level.
Contemporary Japanese Quilts
Opens Sept. 24, 2003 at Crow Collection of Asian Art
Western Tradition, Eastern Innovation: Contemporary Japanese Quilts
features a dozen Japanese quilts made in the last 25 years during the
explosion of quilting in Japan. Inspired by traditional American
patterns yet infused with the Japanese eastern aesthetic, these quilts
take the art of quilting to a new level.
The artists are Ishinami Takako, Ouchi Teiko, Obi Setsuko, Takako
Onoyama, Shima Michiko, Fujishiro Ikuko, Maeda Sumiko, Maruya Yoneko,
Minato Keiko, Yadu Toshiko, Yamagata Toshie and Yawatagaki Mutsuko.
Quilting, which originated in Asia, was taken to Europe by Marco Polo
and then brought to America by immigrants. It has since gone back to
Japan thanks to the quilt revival that came with the Bicentennial of
America. Japanese women who had come to America with their husbands
during the '70s were attracted to the art form and took it home with
them when their husbands' jobs were completed.
These women had been trained, as all upper class Japanese women are, in
eastern aesthetics, which affected their quilting differently than
American women raised with western aesthetics. New quilts with new
aesthetics were the result. The top prizes in quilting are now often
going to this style.
'Throughout this exhibition, one can see traditional American quilt
blocks infused with the eastern aesthetic resulting in completely fresh,
beautiful and imaginative art,' said curator Dr. Marian Ann J. Montgomery.
' It is not as easy as just using Japanese obis, kimonos, or indigo dyed
fabric. These quilts, although they incorporate some traditional
Japanese fabric do not rely solely on those fabrics for their success'
The exhibition was organized through the assistance of Mrs. Takako
Onoyama, who is the owner of Quilt House Yama, the largest quilt shop in
Tokyo.
Western Tradition, Eastern Innovation is part of Quilt Mania, a
collaborative exhibition of a wide variety of quilts September
2003-March 2004 at 11 Dallas-area cultural institutions. The
participating institutions are: The African American Museum, Dallas
Museum of Art, Historic Mesquite, Inc., Irving Arts Center, The McKinney
Avenue Contemporary, Old City Park: The Historical Village of Dallas,
The Science Place, The Sixth Floor Museum at Dealey Plaza, South Dallas
Cultural Center, Thanks-Giving Square and The Trammell and Margaret Crow
Collection of Asian Art. The event's sponsors include The Pauline Allen
Gill Foundation, Anonymous, The International Quilt Festival, The Art
Institute of Dallas, The Quilter's Guild of Dallas, Inc., The Summerlee
Foundation, The Rosewood Foundation, Moda Fabrics, Carriage House Quilt
Shoppe, Common Threads Quilting, Quilt Country, Quiltmakers, Bernina
Sewing Centers of Plano & Dallas, The Quilt Asylum, and The Texas
Association of Quilt Guilds. For more information about Quilt Mania,
call 214-979-6476 or visit http://www.quiltmania.org.
The Trammell & Margaret Crow Collection of Asian Art contains more than
600 paintings, objects of metal and stone, and large architectural
pieces from China, Japan, India, and Southeast Asia. Over 300 works are
on display in the galleries including precious jade ornaments from
China, delicate Japanese scrolls and a rarely seen 28-foot by 12-foot
sandstone facade of an 18th century Indian residence.
Western Tradition, Eastern Innovation: Contemporary Japanese Quilts will
open Wednesday, Sept. 24, 2003 at the Crow Collection of Asian Art, 2010
Flora St. in the Arts District of downtown Dallas. Admission is free.
The exhibition continues through April 4. The Crow Collection is open
Tuesday - Sunday 10 a.m. - 5 p.m., and Thursday until 9 p.m. Call (214)
979-6430 or visit the website. A preview and reception for
the Friends of the Crow Collection, with gallery remarks by curator Dr.
Marian Ann J. Montgomery, will be Tuesday, Sept. 23 6-8 p.m.
Crow Collection
2010 Flora Street
Dallas